


Honey, You've Got A Brainstorm Coming!

by madamecrimson



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series), The Try Guys (Web Series), Watcher Entertainment, Watcher Entertainment (Web Series)
Genre: Age Play, Angst, Crying, Cutting, Do I Even Have Fics That Aren't Friends To Lovers?, F/M, Flirting, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Self-Harm, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-03-12 22:41:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23095810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madamecrimson/pseuds/madamecrimson
Summary: Been having a bit of writer's block lately so this is just going to be a master post of short drabbles I'm mulling over in my mind. Be forewarned, it's anything goes in this post, but I will provide tags as I continue to update.
Relationships: Keith Habersberger/Eugene Lee Yang, Keith Habersberger/Zach Kornfeld, Ned Fulmer/Eugene Lee Yang, Ned Fulmer/Keith Habersberger, Ned Fulmer/Zach Kornfeld, Ryan Bergara/Shane Madej, Zach Kornfeld/Eugene Lee Yang, background Ryan Bergara/Marielle Scott, background sara rubin/shane madej - Relationship
Kudos: 23





	1. Show Your Hand

**Show Your Hand: Ryan/Shane, background Marielle/Ryan, background Sara/Shane**

Shane nearly spit out his coffee in shock when he first heard Ryan's news. "Come again?" he sputtered. 

"That's the idea," Ryan replied, trying to sound more confident than he felt. 

Shane shook his head. "No, repeat what you said before that and this time don't bury the lead. Or at least do a better job of it." 

Ryan grinned widely, though the corners of his mouth twitched. "Marielle and I are poly now." 

"You're poly now," Shane repeated. "Mr. romantic-getaways-and-flowers-just-because-Bergara." 

Ryan shrugged. "She says she has room in her heart for more than one person." 

"Do you?" Shane asked, his tone softening slightly.  
Ryan would do a lot to keep a relationship in tact, going above and beyond, putting his own happiness aside for the other person. That's what ended his last relationship. Ryan was so devastated that Shane bit his own tongue about it for months afterward. 

Ryan shrugged again, but his cheeks had turned red and he was quickly on his feet, preparing to make an awkward getaway. 

"Maybe I do," he replied before making a beeline for the bathroom. 

Shane felt his heart slamming against his chest as he quickly texted Sara the news. She replied with two eggplant emojis and a winking face, making Shane blush down to his chest. 


	2. Paint It Red

**Paint It Red: Zach/Eugene**

Eugene's not sure when it started really. He knew it was while he was still working at Buzzfeed but all of the other details blur and swirl together. He's tried to stop on his own, making promises to himself that he knows he'll break. He's ashamed of it, he feels weak, and he'd be mortified if anyone ever found out. He sits on the floor of his kitchen with his back against the cabinets, his dogs safely locked in his room until he's finished. He looks down at the knife in his hand, the blade shining in the dim light from the chandelier. He spreads his legs, fingers dipping between the spot between his groin area and his thighs. He runs them along the red and bumpy scars, feeling that familiar tug in his chest. 

This isn't the first time he's cut himself and it won't be the last. 

When the Try Guys questioned why Eugene, someone who had otherwise impressive fine motor skills, would so easily slice through his finger when using a knife, he knew he had to be even more covert than he already had been. He didn't want to fuck up his hand, so the cuts he had gotten there weren't on purpose, exactly. He was just reckless with his own safety. 

He winced as he pressed the blade lightly against his scarred skin, letting out a small gasp as he dragged the knife across the junction between his groin and thigh on his left. It would probably be better to cut elsewhere, but he's done enough barely clothed photo shoots to know how to be cautious. He glanced down between his legs, watching the warm red liquid pool in the space between his legs, soaking into his black underwear. There's a reason he often wears darker colors for undergarments. He pushed the blade in a little deeper this time, on the right side, breathing coming out shakily as he made a long cut. The liquid moved further outward, across the alabaster tiles of his floor. He sagged back against the cabinets in relief. 

He didn't from his spot, not yet, even when he can feel the liquid growing dry against his skin. 

It was easier this way. 

He was supposed to be strong. He was supposed to be the one who listened. He was supposed to be the one who supported others. Sure, he came off as aloof at times, but it was better than the alternative. He didn't want to be a burden to anyone. He'd perfected his mask over the years, able to shove down his emotions without much effort. 

What he hadn't counted on was someone seeing past it. 

He heard a knock at the door, squeezing his eyes tightly shut. Getting up to answer it would be too much effort. It was two in the morning and anyone coming around at this hour couldn't be up to any

He heard a second knock, louder this time, but he couldn't bring himself to stand up. He heard the door unlocking and he dropped his head to his chest. He was about to either get murdered by someone who picked the lock or humiliated by a friend with a copy of his house key staring at him in disbelief and disgust. As he heard footsteps approach the kitchen, he hesitantly looked up to see Zach standing in front of him. Zach was silent for only a few moments, but when he spoke, he was calm. There was no judgement in his expression, not even pity. 

"Your phone was off," Zach said softly as he stepped toward the sink. 

Eugene watched Zach carefully as the smaller man wet a dish towel with warm water. Eugene's eyes stayed on Zach as Zach sat down in front of Eugene. "Sorry, but this will hurt a little," he said, lightly pressing the towel to Eugene's cuts. Eugene hissed in pain, blinking down at Zach, dumbfounded. He had expected...well, he wasn't entirely sure what he was expecting from Zach but it certainly wasn't this much of a calm reaction. Eugene's cheeks flushed as Zach gently dabbed at the cuts, cleaning the area. 

"The bleeding's stopped and band-aids aren't going to stay on. I'll apply some antiseptic after the cuts are clean," Zach told him. 

Eugene's breath hitched when Zach started moving toward a more sensitive bit of his anatomy, biting his lip as Zach's knuckles brushed against it. Zach pulled out his trusty first aid kit from his bag, palming through it for the antiseptic. 

"You're seriously not freaked out by this?" Eugene asked shakily, finally finding his voice. 

"I've cleaned cuts before," Zach replied, finding the antiseptic. "This is gonna hurt a little," he said, taking his time to apply it to Eugene's wounds, waiting patiently as Eugene curled and uncurled himself at Zach's touch. 

"That's not--" Eugene began. 

"If you're asking if I'm freaked out by the fact that they're self-inflicted, no, I'm not," Zach interrupted. "That's not to say I don't care though." 

Zach met Eugene's gaze with a look of empathetic understanding that tore at Eugene a bit. Zach put everything away, standing up to wash his hands. "Open your legs a little more and wait til everything dries," Zach told Eugene as he sat back down. 

Eugene swallowed thickly, but he obeyed. "If you want to tell me why you're hurting, I'm here to listen," Zach assured him. "But I'm not gonna force you." 

Eugene bit the inside of his cheek, stifling back tears. He felt too open, too vulnerable, too exposed with Zach seeing him like this. But true to his word, Zach didn't try to force anything out of Eugene. Normally, Zach almost acted toward Eugene like a younger kid wanting to hang out with the cool older teenagers. He'd ask Eugene an endless amount of questions, was super nosy when he thought Eugene was hiding something from the rest of the guys, and often tried to attack him with hugs or similar physical contact. Right now though, Zach wasn't clamoring for Eugene's attention. Instead, he was giving his own attention to Eugene.


	3. Acquiescence and Attention

**Acquiescence and Attention: Ryan/Shane**

It's not that Shane _can't_ say "no" to Ryan. 

It's that he doesn't. 

He's continued to do Buzzfeed: Unsolved with Ryan for over four years, but he doesn't believe in ghosts. 

He'd agreed to start up a company with Ryan and Steven, but he wasn't 100% sure it would work out. 

He's not really a fan of mainstream tourist attractions and roller coasters, but when Ryan said he would also be able to show off his hipster-y hidden gems, it allowed Shane to drop his token protest. 

It's not that Ryan _can't_ say "no" to Shane. 

It's that he doesn't. 

He's not really that much of a history buff, but readily agreed to be a guest on Ruining History and Puppet History

He's definitely shaky when it comes to ghosts and demons, but allowed Shane to up the ante on their supernatural expeditions. 

He's not really the sort to seek out lesser known local attractions, but when Shane pitched Weird and/or Wonderful World to Ryan, Ryan couldn't think of a good enough reason to decline. 

It's not that Shane _wants_ Ryan to pay attention to him. 

It's that he likes watching Ryan's reactions. 

He'd started the Hot Daga as a one off joke, but once he saw how intensely expressive Ryan got about it, he continued with it, even to the point of scouring through hours of voiceover files to include Ryan as a character in it. 

He'd started Ruining History as means to combine his love of history and storytelling, but kept Ryan on as a consistent guest and would cover increasingly gruesome events to see Ryan light up; Puppet History would prove to be no different. 

It's not that Ryan _wants_ Shane to pay attention to him. 

It's that he likes watching Shane's reactions. 

He'd always had a love of true crime, but when he saw Shane become more animated with more extreme crimes and local town details, he started tailoring the cases he selected to reflect those characteristics.

He was excited to start filming episodes of Watcher Weekly to be able to speak more candidly than when they were all solely working for Buzzfeed, but his jokes, his remarks, his behavior all increased in how crass and wacky they were when he knew it would make Shane laugh or grimace or scold him. 

But there was a line that lay between them that they both refused to cross. 

When Shane felt himself teetering too close, he would deny his friendship with Ryan. When Ryan felt too near to the edge, he would amend his defense of their friendship measured in the mass amounts of time spent together, by stating that it was work-related and admitting that it would be too much to see each other outside of work too. 

And so it left them at a standstill, where neither of them could tell which would be scarier:

The fear that the other wouldn't say "yes" or the fear that they themselves wouldn't be able to say "no."


End file.
